The 20.26h.p. Belhaven Chassis.
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Leading Features which are Common to the Three " Heavy " Machines Built by Belhaven Engineering and Motors, Limited, of Wishaw, near Glasgow.
After a thorough examination in the factory of every detail of the 30-60ewt. Belhaven chassis, and a severe trial with one of this maker's two-ton lorries on the roads in and around Glasgow, a representative of this journal has arrived at the following conclusions about the vehicles:— (1), they are of extremely-simple design (2), the plan of construction throughout has been well considered before the commencement of manufacture; and (3). they are quite capable of taking the specified loads op any gradient to be found on a road along which it is possible for horsedrawn vehicles to be employed. They are, in fact, practical machines without any " frills. We gave, in our last issue, a brief account of the makers and sellers of these vehicles, and we are now able to supplement that" foretaste " by a complete description of the leading features which are common to all the three 2026h.p. models. As a result of our representative's visit to the works at Wishaw, we are forced to the belief that it will shortly be found necessary to make extensions, both to the buildings and the plant, if deliveries are to be made as rapidly as we think will he needed ; there is plenty of land available in the vicinity of the works, and, as it is owned by the Morton people, we quite expect to hear that new building operations are in progress before very long. Only by neglect of other branches of its business can the Belhaven Company hope to he able to keep in line with the requirements of its motor department for sonic mouths; hut, as it has established a wide reputation for machinery in the bakery and confectionery trades, we should not
advise the management to throw that department overboard. There is plenty of young and energetic blood in the concern, ‘Ihilst, even if the motor department should entirely claim Messrs. Thom and James Morton's attention, there are others fully capable of managing the older branches of the company's business.
The decision to employ engines of the well-known Aster make is certainly a step in the right direction, especially as we find that that engine-maker's commercial-vehicle models will alone be fitted. The two-cylinder model on the three largest types of Belhaven chassis is capable of developing from 20-26h.p. ; its cylinders are 5iin, in diameter, whilst the piston-stroke is ,51in. • We give, at the foot of this page, two views of this engine, as fitted in a two-ton chassis, and it may be noticed that although the engine-maker's standard distributor for use with high tension coil and accumulator is provided, low-tension mag neto ignition is employed. Dual ignition may thus he supplied when desired. The distributor, as is shown in the illustration, is mounted on the top of a vertical spindle which is driven from the exhaust camshaft, whilst the oil pump is mounted on the lower end : all the engine bear ings are supplied with lubricant by means of the latter, arid the amount of oil wasted through leakage is practically nil. This oil-tightness is due to the excellent design
of the crankcase, which, although there are large-sized
inspection doors directly under the big-end hearings, has no horizontal division. Excessive weight has been avoided, hilt there has certainly been no foolish " carving down " of vital parts; for instance, the crankshaft is 2iin, in diameter at the journals. Hot-air passages are cast in tegral with the crankcase, and by this means the necessity
to fit a lanceted carburetter to permit the use of heavygrade spirit is obviated. The circulation of the cooling
water is maintained by a centrifugal pomp, which draws water from an Albany radiator of the flattened-tribe and corrugated-fin type; cooling is still further assisted by an
aluminium fan, and this has the appearance of having been designed as a fan—a strong contrast to many of the scrap-sheet-iron arrangements which one so often linds on motor vehicles.
That simplest of all types of friction clutches—the covered metal cone—is fitted, and the male member is faced with " Ferodo " material instead of the more-usual leather ; there is much to be said in favour of this COMbination of type and material. From the clutch tail shaft, the drive is transmitted to a gearbox of the alwaysin-mesh type: we illustrate it herewith. The first, second, and third wheels on the main shaft (counting from the
cluich end Of the gearbox) are mounted freely on the shaft, but they may be locked thereto by means of sliding claw couplings; the fourth wheel (the one nearest to the bevel-driven countershaft) is securely fixed on the forward end of the differential pinion shaft. Each half of the couplings has sixteen jaws, each alternate tooth, in order to give a " lead in " to the teeth of the mating halfcoupling, being slightly shorter than the others. When the adjacent sliding coupling is caused to mesh with the jaws on the wheel which we have termed the " fourth," a direct drive is obtained from the engine to the differential gearing; two other forward speeds, and one reverse, are provided by other positions of the sliding claw couplings. All the changes of gear ratio are effected by a single lever with a gate change, which is designed much on the lines of that employed by the English Daimler Company and other makers, and this affords a positive lock for any gear in operation; when one set of claws is in engagement, it is absolutely impossible for another pair to become engaged independently of the movements of the changespeed lever.
The differential gear, by reason of its being mounted on the gearbox tail shaft, is of lighter construction than is necessary when mounted on the cross-shaft; the inner ends of the two halves of the latter simply carry the bevel, or crown, wheels, and these shafts, like the main shaft and fay shaft of the gearbox, are mounted on plain phosphorbronze bearings, although ball bearings are fitted to take the thrust due to the bevel drivers. The outer ends of the conical aluminium countershaft casing, which, by thc way, are provided with turned and ground steel tubes, are fitted with oil glands, and these prevent the oil's escaping from the gearbox by way of the countershaft-end bearings. All the gear wheels are made of Mather's " Ubas " steel, whilst the transmission shafts are turned from forged bars of nickel-chrome steel.
The Coventry Chain Company's " Wormo " type of roller chain is employed for the final drive from the castmild-steel pinions to chain wheels of similar material. The wheel-brake drums are east integral with the chain wheels, and the finished article looks quite a good job, but it occurs to us that, with a suitable and simple alteration to the existing pattern, an enlarged flange, or star piece, could be added for the purpose of securing the chain wheel direct to the felloes, the chain wheel still being " centred " by the axle ; the spokes of the road wheels would thereby be relieved of all but axial loads. The Belhaven company is quite happy in its choice of oast mildsteel for these wheels, and we are informed that they are supplied by a local foundry.
The components described by us to-day are practically the same for all the three heavy machines, but, of course, the final-drive ratio varies with the eapaeity and speed of the vehicle. The pressed-steel frames are made to suit the loads, as also are the following. parts : —the straight back axle; the " Butler patent " leading axle ; the steering gear: the bearing springs; and the road wheels. The
lighter chassis, for loads of from 1:3 30cwt., have twocylinder Aster engines of 16-l9h.p., with a smaller gearbox of similar construction to that in the 20-26h.p. models. We learn, with interest, that both demonstrations and sales in all sections are being arranged from London.
At the time of our representative's visit, a batch of taxicab chassis was being put through for service in Glasgow, and, although these were not sufficiently advanced to enable the formation of an accurate opinion of their capacity for the work, we believe that they, like the van and lorry chassis built at Wishaw, will prove quite equal to the severe conditions of service on Glasgow's streets, the surfaces of which can only be described as " moderate " where they are not " bad."